Loke Cheng Kim (;

Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Pha̍k-fa-sṳ () is an orthography similar to Pe̍h-ōe-jī and used to write Hakka, a variety of Chinese. Hakka is a whole branch of Chinese, and Hakka dialects are not necessarily mutually intelligible with each other, considering the large geo ...

: ''Lu̍k Su̍k-kâi''; 5 May 1895 – 1981) was a Malaysian–Singaporean businesswoman and philanthropist.

Early life

Born the eldest daughter of

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

businessmen A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

descent from

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

which owned

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

mines in

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

and had been established in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

for generations. Her Hakka mother, Soon Kui Sim, took over the management of her husband's tin mines in Rawang, when he was forced to retire due to illness. Being largely illiterate, she devised her own complex

hieroglyphic Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters. ...

bookkeeping system to manage the family's extensive finances. Loke's mother would even go to the mines personally and wake the labourers up to work by literally pulling them out of bed. Not having had the opportunity to be schooled, she was determined that her daughter would not be illiterate and sent the young girl to study at the Methodist Girls' School

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

GSKLby train – a journey of 50 miles each way. Once, Loke fell asleep on the train on her way home from school and she awakened just as the train was starting to leave Rawang Station. She was so scared of returning home late and receiving a good chiding from her mother that she leapt out of the moving train. Fortunately the train was not moving fast as it was just leaving the station so she escaped with a few bruises. However, she still received a chiding from her mother when the latter was informed by the station master of what had happened. Despite her domineering character, her mother's strength and determination became a great influence on Loke's life.

Marriage to Loke Yew

Loke was matchmade by other relatives and married

Loke Yew Loke Yew Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (; 1845–1917), born Wong Loke Yew, was a Malayan business magnate of Cantonese people, Cantonese descent. During his lifetime, he played a significant role in the development of Kuala Lumpur a ...

in 1914, after his third wife and her distant cousin Lim Shuk Kwei died. After only three years of marriage and the birth of three children, Loke Yew died. Upon his death, she had to bring up three children on her own, and was especially concerned with the poor health of her eldest child: her son Wan Tho. This spurred her to the point of bringing the children abroad for education and healthcare in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1929. Life in Switzerland with its pure air and peaceful scenery inspired the Loke children and they developed a love of nature. Wan Tho excelled in sports at school and became an avid mountaineer, birdwatcher and photographer later in his life. Yuen Peng's interest in nature led her to become a renowned nature conservationist in Singapore and Malaya, and she devoted her life to nature photography. Loke returned to

to oversee the management of her late husband's assets and businesses. In 1936 she incorporated Associated Theatres Ltd (later renamed

Cathay Organisation Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited is one of Singapore's leading leisure and entertainment groups. It operates the first THX cinema hall and digital cinema in Singapore. The group has operations in both Singapore and Malaysia. Current Subs ...

), registering her son Wan Tho, as one of the owners of the business. At that time Wan Tho was still an undergraduate at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. She proceeded to build the Loke family's first multiplex: the Pavilion Theatre in Kuala Lumpur. In 1937, she purchased a site at

Dhoby Ghaut Dhoby Ghaut ( ) is a place in Singapore that often refers to the MRT station of the same name, which is a major interchange station on Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit network connecting the North-South Line, North East Line, and the Circle Li ...

in Singapore where she constructed the modern Cathay Building and developed cinema, hotel and restaurant businesses. When the Cathay building was completed in 1939, it was the first skyscraper in Singapore before the war and the signature building of Cathay Organisation. Before their home was occupied by the Japanese, Loke was evacuated to

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

India and, during the war years there, started a Chinese restaurant in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. On the liberation of Singapore, Loke returned in 1946 whereupon she was presented with a plaque by

Lord Louis Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was a British statesman, Royal Navy off ...

commemorating his occupancy of the

Cathay Building The Cathay Building (; ) was opened in 1939 by Dato Loke Wan Tho as the headquarters for the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation. Located at 2 Handy Road in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore, the building was most known for its air-cond ...

. She also bought another property in

Katong Katong (commonly referred to as Tanjong Katong) is a residential neighbourhood in the eastern portion of the Central Region of Singapore, within the Marine Parade planning area. The Katong district stretches from Fort Road area to the Joo ...

which had been a hospital for the Japanese during the war, and converted it into the Ocean Park Hotel. The hotel grew to become a popular haunt by locals for alfresco dining and dancing. She was concurrently also actively involved with the management of the Cathay Hotel in the Cathay Building and developing many of her properties in the area surrounding the Cathay Keris Studios.

Other passions in life

Loke was also an art lover collector, and had a green thumb. She was extremely fond of flowers and was known to have arranged the flowers in the Cathay Chinese Restaurant herself on many special occasions. Soft-spoken but steely, Loke was a generous philanthropist all her life. From as long as Loke herself can remember, her mother Soon Kui Sim insisted that girls must become literate and having an education. This quality rubbed off on Loke, and for most her life she devoted much of her time to social welfare and education of children especially girls. Yuen Peng remembers her mother had helped two girls from St. Hilda's School in Katong and putting them through university education in Australia. She was President of the Singapore Chinese Ladies' Association, and of the Chinese Women's Athletic Association before the war, and President of the Chinese Relief Fund Ladies' Section in Kuala Lumpur when the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

broke out. Loke was known to enjoy her food, especially

Peranakan The Peranakan Chinese () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (region), Nanyang (), namely the British Empire, British, Portugu ...

food, a legacy of her Penang heritage and practised

tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...

everyday until ill health disabled her. Even in her retirement years she was very active in all her businesses and continued to make stock investments. Loke's shrewdness and determination had been a great influence on the life of her son Loke Wan Tho, till the end of his life. In spite of her canniness, Loke was a very ethical woman, especially towards honesty and fair dealing and she held to what she said to others. Loke died in 1981 at the age of 86. In memory of her lifetime of philanthropy, the Loke Cheng Kim Foundation in Singapore continues the tradition of helping needy students to pursue further education in foreign universities overseas, with the Loke Cheng Kim Scholarship. The Saint Andrew's Junior College Singapore also named one of their halls Loke Cheng Kim Hall in memory of Loke.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loke, Cheng Kim 1895 births Malaysian people of Hokkien descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent 1981 deaths Malaysian emigrants to Singapore People who lost Malaysian citizenship Naturalised citizens of Singapore Singaporean art patrons Singaporean people of Hokkien descent Singaporean philanthropists Malaysian people of Hakka descent Businesspeople from Penang 20th-century philanthropists 20th-century Singaporean businesspeople 20th-century Malaysian businesspeople 20th-century Singaporean businesswomen 20th-century Malaysian businesswomen